In this timely book,
historian David Lesch explores the recent history of Syria from about
1970 to 2012. Unlike other investigations published recently, Lesch is
uniquely qualified to write on Syria in general and Bashar al-Assad in
particular. Lesch has traveled to and has written about Syria for
twenty-three years and was given unprecedented access to interview
President Bashar al-Assad in 2004 and 2005. He presents a narrative that
blends intimate anecdotes about the Assad regime, while also
considering evidence produced by scholars and analysts.

The
book is divided into nine chapters which roughly follow the chronology
of Assad’s ascension in 2000 to the time at which Lesch finished writing
the book. This means that Lesch has in some places presaged later
developments in the Syrian crisis, while in others his analysis at the
time proved inaccurate. Chapter 1 offers a concise examination of Bashar
al-Assad in 2000, who had fallen into power because of the untimely
death of his older brother Basil, whose political acumen was apposite
for following in the footsteps of Hafiz al-Assad. Lesch paints Bashar as
a politically moderate, computer enthusiast, called back from London
following the completion of his degree in ophthalmology to reticently
take up the leadership position in his father’s party.

Against the
backdrop of his hope for Syria, Lesch explores the subsequent events
that have come to characterize Bashar’s headship. Chapter 2 discusses
how the United States, under the Bush administration, shifted policy
towards Syria in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, when Bashar failed
(or neglected?) to close his nation's border to prevent Islamist
insurgents from fighting US troops in Iraq. Lesch presents the difficult
political decisions Bashar had to make during those years against the
backdrop of political inexperience. His inexperience, even personal
insecurity, gave way to anger and an increasing confidence in 2005 when
Bashar was forced to remove his troops from Lebanon.

The following
chapters (Ch. 3-6) examine the development of protests in the context
of the Arab Awakening, as well as how he and the Syrian government
responded. Readers in the West will likely find Chapter 7, “The
International Response,” most fascinating. Here, Lesch lays out in a
clear manner the countries and groups which are either for or against
Assad, including al-Qaida and Hezbollah. Lesch effectively highlights
the inconsistencies in the international response to government
repression across the MENA.

Chapters
8-9 follow the latest developments, probably just before Lesch’s
manuscript was submitted for print. In the end, Lesch presents a variety
of scenarios which may play out depending on the international response
to the ongoing war. He shows that the fall of Assad is likely to be the
only option that will mollify the opposition and, in light of the
ongoing fighting, a negotiated solution is becoming more and more
improbable. In addition, Lesch also argues that the fragmented nature of
the opposition precludes an effective and unified front to negotiate a
peace with the Assad regime.

In the end, Lesch contrasts Bashar
al-Assad with former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Realizing the collapse of the Soviet system, Gorbachev engaged in the
process of glasnost and perestroika, socio-political and economic
programs that fundamentally reconfigured the Soviet Union. Ironically,
these same measures resulted in his fall from power. Nonetheless, as
Lesch notes, Gorbachev “recognized and then seized the moment” to
transform life in the Soviet Union. “Not unlike Gorbachev,” Lesch
writes, “Assad desperately needed to break out of the stifling,
anachronistic box of Syria politics-as-usual and to embrace a
transformational role in his country” (p.241). However, he has failed
miserably to do so. It is in this way, Lesch concludes his book.

One
of the book’s virtues lies in Lesch’s ability to show that, despite his
moderate and western-style upbringing and education, Bashar al-Assad is
a product of the context in which he grew up. He is a product of the
Cold War era, and someone who, not unlike his father, will secure his
political longevity at all costs—even if that means brutally suppressing
the people over whom the Assad regime rules.

This is a timely
book that should be required reading for anyone interested in Middle
Eastern history and politics. Lesch’s provides profound insight into
what continues to be a brutal war and whose consequences have yet to
materialize fully.